Futures market

The REAL World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a currency war with far greater implications and consequences for every human being on earth than the one that plays out in Las Vegas every year. Many of the Western nations' bluffs are now being exposed and falling apart.  This will have significant implications for much higher gold & silver prices in the future.

European equities have made tentative progress this morning, led by the technology and basic materials sectors. The European morning was relatively peaceful until a flurry of activity on the back of European sources commenting that Spain are unlikely to seek ESM aid until the end of the year, and the ECB are not in a rush to commence bond-buying using their OMT facility. The delay of expectations of purchases has taken its toll on the Spanish debt markets which, despite completing their 2012 issuance smoothly today, show signs of strain as the 10yr yield breaches 5.81%, and the yield spread approaches 450bps against the German benchmark – the level at which LCH begin to review margin requirements. The pain in Spain has also impacted the EUR currency, with the major EUR/USD pair printing a two-month low of 1.2720 this morning.

On this lonely blustery day, with US equity markets closed, long-only managers around the US can go peacefully back to sleep as 'Kevin' has got our back. S&P futures (ES) managed a glorious ramp into the 915ET close to confirm a close above the vertically challenged 1400 level. Volume, as one would expect, is dismal but the 6500 contracts that ran thru in the last 2 minutes makes perfect sense (to someone we are sure). The equity futures market was on its own in this rampapalooza, as Treasuries slid to the lowest yields in two weeks, USD strengthened, and commodities dropped - all leaving ES significantly divergent from CONTEXT (broad risk-assets). Nothing but another episode of illegally Banging the Close (but don't hold your breath for the regulators to prosecute anyone, least of all the Liberty 33 residents) with your friendly New York Fed (and Citadel).  Gold is higher - even with the USD up 0.25%.

Imagine if in 2007, Ben Bernanke, Mervyn King, Jean Claude Trichet et al, had actually possessed the analytical foresight to see what was coming, organised a meeting with the world's media and explained how, using their collective wisdom, they would solve the problem.

"There's going to be a massive global crisis, but there's no need to worry. We're just going to print money."

 

"Is that it?"

How would most people have reacted then? We think they would have laughed out loud. Why are so many of us reacting differently now? The nature of markets is that they periodically forget the lessons of history. Confidence in the status quo seems as entrenched now as it was in 2007 but Gold appears to be exhibiting 'Giffen-like' behavior where, instead of falling, demand is rising as prices rise.

The world and their mum will be overjoyed all is fixed again in Spain and Apple can be bought safely as today's ramp-a-palooza in risk-assets indicates. However, the 100-pip run in EURUSD which 'correlated-ly' ramped everything did more damage than good in the long-run as Oil prices surged off their 'see QEternity inflation is only transitory' way. WTI topped $92 (up over 3% off yesterday's lows) as Gold and Silver surged on the day to end up around 0.25% on the week (in the face of a 0.25% strengthening in the USD on the week). JPY strength and moreover EUR's push dragged the USD 0.5% lower from yesterday's peak and provided just the lift to get the S&P back to Monday's lows, filled a gap in AAPL's chart and lifted the financials ETF briefly back up to unch from pre-FOMC. Volume and trade size was large as we ramped and drifted once we topped - which smells a lot like pros selling into a stop-run-driven strength. Equities pulled back into the close (even as VIX limped back under 15% down almost 2 vols today) catching down to risk-asset's slightly less ebullient perspective.

UPDATE: CAT is sliding AH after noting higher chance of recession and cuts 2015 EPS guidance from $15-20 to $12-18 - Slide attached

Following Friday's two-year high volume levels on the NYSE - as OPEX and rebalancing dominated - today saw reversion to the dismal mean in both cash and futures market volumes. It seems sell-the-news was the meme today as builders (LEN earnings exuberance) and AAPL (less than whisper sales) sold off and broadly speaking we saw the month/quarter's winners lagging as safety and stability lead the way.

Since 2007 our analysis has suggested the likelihood of economic outcomes that most have considered unlikely: significant and ongoing monetary inflation, policy-administered currency devaluation, substantial global price inflation, and an eventual change in how the forty year old global monetary system is structured. Most observers have viewed such outlooks as tail events – highly unlikely, unworthy of serious consideration or a long way off. We remain resolute, and believe last week’s movements in Frankfurt and Washington towards perpetual quantitative easing confirmed and accelerated the validity of our outlook. With QBAMCO's view that $15,000 - $19,000 Gold is possible, timing of the catch-up phase is impossible - though they suspect last week's events may be the catalyst that begins to raise public awareness of the link between monetary inflation and price inflation.

As the US Presidential and Congressional election campaigns move into their frenetic final stages ahead of the November 6th polling date, we thought it would be good to see what the futures markets think about the outcome. As UBS notes, the Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM) are futures markets allow traders to take positions, with real money, on a variety of economic and political events, the best known of which are US elections. Since inception, the IEM has had an impressive track record of forecasting elections, consistently better than conventional polls months in advance. The current data, however, highly contradictory - or Schrodinger-like - as the gap in the popular vote has narrowed significantly, yet the gap in the winner-take-all election result market has widened dramatically in favor of Obama. Furthermore, there is a 70% chance the Republicans wrest control of the Senate and the probability of the democrats gaining a House of Representatives majority is a mere 10%. It would seem gridlock will persist with a divided government - not good news for the fiscal cliff.

This is an important update on the U.S. drought of 2012, the combined record-setting July land temperatures, and their impact on food prices, water availability, energy, and even U.S. GDP. Even though the mainstream media seems to have lost some interest in the drought, we should keep it front and center in our minds, as it has already led to sharply higher grain prices, increased gasoline costs (via the pass-through of higher ethanol costs), impeded oil and gas drilling activity in some areas (due to a lack of water), caused the shutdown of a few operating electricity plants, temporarily reduced red meat prices (but will also make them climb sharply later) as cattle are dumped in response to feed- and pasture-management concerns, and blocked and/or reduced shipping on the Mississippi River.  All this and there's also a strong chance that today's drought will negatively impact next year's Winter wheat harvest, unless a lot of rain starts falling soon.

Although the supply and demand factors do not seem to support the current price levels, there are plenty of other events to sustain and add premium.

The reasons why interest is so incredibly low in buying gold and silver among the general masses when they are screaming bargains, and why the general populace’s interest in PMs only perk up after prices have moved much higher, or worse yet, never at all, is a testament to the disinformation campaign waged by the bankers against the people.

Don't panic. Change is good. The S&P 500 futures market somehow dropped 1.25 points today - its worst in 10 days! - and yet, shock horror, data was positive, European leaders offered more jawboning support, and Treasuries weakened. NYSE volume remained bleak but S&P 500 e-mini futures (ES) volume rose to its highest in over a week (yes - we were stunned too - volume picked up as selling began) amid reasonable average trade size (especially as ES lost 1400). After VIX's implosion yesterday, it ramped over 1.25 vols higher today - testing back to 15% late on. The USD leaked higher all day, back to unchanged on the week (while Copper/Gold/Silver are all down 1.2-1.3% on the week - having gapped down on positive data this morning). Oil remains green on the week and spurted modestly higher on the day. Treasuries are still under pressure - not getting much back as equities sold off into the close - higher/steeper in yield by 4-8bps on the week now. Of course - the closing rampfest was inevitable as that stunning 4 point drop in ES was rapidly 'tickled' back up to near VWAP into the day-session close - though we note that ES was unable to get green and unable to reach the safety of VWAP with heavy 'down' volume after-hours. Cue 'Asian-opening-gap-worm' algo.

Today's NYSE total volume has a run-rate around 15-20% below its average for this time of day. This is 2 standard deviations below average and most notably the lowest non-holiday day/week volume so far. At the same time, volume in the futures market is even worse with S&P 500 e-mini futures (ES) trading volumes around 30% below their recent average. It is perhaps no surprise then that ES is jiggling in a narrow 3pt range between its lows and its VWAP/unch level.

SemGroup in 2008 and the London Whale in 2012 have given the people a blueprint to kill JP Morgan's alleged massive manipulative position in the silver market.

Here we go again. Back in July 2011 we wrote an article entitled "The Real Banking Crisis" where we discussed the increasing instability of the Eurozone banks suffering from depositor bank runs. Since that time (and two LTRO infusions and numerous bailouts later), Eurozone banks, as represented by the Euro Stoxx Banks Index, have fallen more than 50% from their July 2011 levels and are now in the midst of yet another breakdown led by the abysmal situation currently unfolding in Greece and Spain.... Although the last eight months have not played out the way we would have expected for gold, they have played out the way we envisioned for the banks. The question now is how long this can go on for, and how long gold can remain under pressure in a banking crisis that has the potential to spread beyond Greece and Spain? So much now rests on the policy responses fashioned by the US Fed and ECB, and just as much also rests on what's left of European citizens' confidence in their local banking institutions. Neither of these things can be precisely measured or predicted, but we continue to firmly believe that depositors in Greece and Spain will choose gold over drachmas or pesetas if they have the foresight and are given the freedom to act accordingly. The number one reason we have always believed gold should be owned, and why we believe it will go higher, is people's growing distrust of the banking system - and we are now there. We will wait and see how the summer develops, and keep our attention firmly focused of the second phase of the bank run now spreading across southern Europe.